Harlan Dondelinger

Harlan Dondelinger
Gender/Sex
Status
Hair Color	Gray-Brown (formerly) Gray (currently)
Occupation	Principal of Springfield High School
Relations	Wife: Unnamed (deceased)
First episode appearance	"The Way We Was"
Portrayed by	Harry Shearer

Principal Harlan Dondelinger is the principal of Springfield High School, dating as far back as 1974.

History

He was principal when Homer and Marge were in their final year in the flashback episode "The Way We Was" where he was shown as being a stern figure who appeared to have had several run-ins with Homer and Barney Gumble. He dislikes both of them, believing that they are slackers that will end up in dead end jobs. Dondelinger was right about Homer ending up at a dead end job in the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, but Barney was able to get a good job as a helicopter pilot (as well as snow-plow driver, working with Linda Ronstandt on her music, being one of the members of The Bee Sharps, and creating a short film about his miserable life as an alcoholic). He also appeared at Homer and Marge's reunion in "The Front" and at Artie Ziff's re-creation of the prom in "Half-Decent Proposal". It was obvious that Dondelinger favored Artie over Homer due to the belief that he will be a multimillionaire and do a lot of tasks that Homer would never do.

In "Take My Life, Please", Dondelinger infuriated Homer when he revealed that he hid the ballot box with the help of two student athletes (one being Vance Connor) whom came up with the idea of putting Homer's name on the ballot as a joke so when he lost, everyone can laugh at him (which worked out well). He paid Lenny and Carl to hide the real ballot box containing Homer's name to ensure that he loses. Dondelinger, Vance and another student were presumably blackmailed by Marge and her children to do the right thing and put Homer's name in a plaque on the Springfield Wall of Fame, by threatening to reveal their dirty misdeeds to everyone in Springfield which would have brought humiliation to the men with their downfall and eventual arrest.

Aside from his acting as principal for Springfield High School, he also acted as a teacher at the Adult Education Annex in "The Front", where he specifically taught remedial Science 1A (and more specifically, Homer's class). In "The Front", Dondelinger explains that his wife had recently passed away, so he chose to take up teaching night classes as way to ease his newfound loneliness.

Appearances

• Episode – "The Way We Was" (flashback)
• Episode – "The Front"
• Episode – "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"
• Episode – "Half-Decent Proposal" (Brief appearance)
• Episode – "She Used to Be My Girl" (flashback)
• – The Simpsons Movie
• Episode – "That '90s Show"
• Episode – "Take My Life, Please"
• THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" (Brief appearance)
• Episode – "I, Carumbus"
• Book – The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album
• Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out (as Principal Dondelinger)

The Simpsons: Season Two
"Bart Gets an "F"":	"Simpson and Delilah":	"Treehouse of Horror":	"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish":	"Dancin' Homer":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Dead Putting Society":	"Bart vs. Thanksgiving":	"Bart the Daredevil":	"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge":	"Bart Gets Hit by a Car":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish":	"The Way We Was":	"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment":	"Principal Charming":	"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?":
Absent	Minor	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bart's Dog Gets an F":	"Old Money":	"Brush with Greatness":	"Lisa's Substitute":	"The War of the Simpsons":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Three Men and a Comic Book":	"Blood Feud":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Four
"Kamp Krusty":	"A Streetcar Named Marge":	"Homer the Heretic":	"Lisa the Beauty Queen":	"Treehouse of Horror III":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie":	"Marge Gets a Job":	"New Kid on the Block":	"Mr. Plow":	"Lisa's First Word":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Homer's Triple Bypass":	"Marge vs. the Monorail":	"Selma's Choice":	"Brother from the Same Planet":	"I Love Lisa":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Duffless":	"Last Exit to Springfield":	"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show":	"The Front":	"Whacking Day":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Minor	Absent
"Marge in Chains":	"Krusty Gets Kancelled":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Five
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet":	"Cape Feare":	"Homer Goes to College":	"Rosebud":	"Treehouse of Horror IV":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Marge on the Lam":	"Bart's Inner Child":	"Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood":	"The Last Temptation of Homer":	"$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Homer the Vigilante":	"Bart Gets Famous":	"Homer and Apu":	"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy":	"Deep Space Homer":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Homer Loves Flanders":	"Bart Gets an Elephant":	"Burns' Heir":	"Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song":	"The Boy Who Knew Too Much":
Cameo	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Lady Bouvier's Lover":	"Secrets of a Successful Marriage":
Absent	Absent

The Simpsons: Season Six
"Bart of Darkness":	"Lisa's Rival":	"Another Simpsons Clip Show":	"Itchy & Scratchy Land":	"Sideshow Bob Roberts":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Treehouse of Horror V":	"Bart's Girlfriend":	"Lisa on Ice":	"Homer Badman":	"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Fear of Flying":	"Homer the Great":	"And Maggie Makes Three":	"Bart's Comet":	"Homie the Clown":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bart vs. Australia":	"Homer vs. Patty and Selma":	"A Star is Burns":	"Lisa's Wedding":	"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"The PTA Disbands":	"'Round Springfield":	"The Springfield Connection":	"Lemon of Troy":	"Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Cameo